Holidays are exciting, enough said! But what happens when your hours of careful planning are affected by factors beyond your control?

We recently helped a father and daughter whose holiday plans were nearly ruined due to a death in their family. The father and daughter were going to India for a three-week tour. The daughter was already overseas, travelling on a round-the-world ticket, and her father was going to meet her in India for the tour. The day before the father was due to leave Australia, he received a very sad call. His father in Zimbabwe had died, leaving him as the executor of the estate, and he was therefore urgently required in Africa.

Being a qualified travel agent, and apt at managing travel procedures, we called Singapore Airlines and arranged to change his non-changeable ticket, without financial penalty.

We also liaised with the tour company and arranged for the father to join the tour four days late, also with no penalties.

The daughter was staying a couple of days pre tour with the tour company, so I was able to pass on a message through their land operators about what had happened, so she didn’t panic when her father didn’t show up at the start of the tour.

Through our work we also had the travel insurance company extended his cover so he was protected for the African component of his trip and new flights- which weren’t covered under his original policy- at no extra charge.

Holidays are exciting, though unfortunately things do go wrong. This family was very lucky to have arranged their trip through Sean Simmons Travel. As a professional and ATAS accredited travel agent, the family was able to lean on our expertise to sort out the situation, limit financial exposure and go on to have a great holiday.

“I have known Sean for over 9 years and worked with him in several different positions and capacities. It is a pleasure to do business with Sean and he’s always responsive to any queries that I may have. He has shown great support for my endeavors over the years for which I am so grateful. As I am a supplier representative to his business, and industry colleague, I have seen how far Sean's business has evolved in a relatively short space of time. I admire the dedication and hours he puts into making his business as customer focused, technologically advanced and innovative as it is. Sean has dedicated employees and suppliers who are a testament to his management and long-term client/supplier relationships. Sean has a customer oriented outlook with all that he does and I look forward to a long working relationship with Sean now, and in the future.”